Folks here is my first contribution to Cranford Fanfic (or 'Cranfic' as one fanficeraptly put it!). I have a few more that I will post shortly. All my Cranford stories are short one-shots. But I will post them in chronological scene order.

They were written a few years ago, but I didn't post them on this site as they are not strictly fanfic, in that they don't create new plot situations. Rather, I take existing scenes and further explore the feelings and situations of the characters therein.

I deliberately don't go back and rewatch a scene before I write my version. This means I can focus on those elements of a scene that made the most impact on me. This way, what I write comes partly from what's within me, and therefore hopefully gives the scene a fresh (and sometimes slightly different) slant and twist.

I'm encouraged post these short one-shot rewrites after reading the many excellent one-shot's of other Cranficers,collected within the Boots and Brigades community, which are also based on existing scenes. But I'll only know if mine DO work the way I want, if people can (pleaaase!) review my stories. Constructive criticism also welcome as that can also help me improve. I hope you enjoy!

Acknowledgements: The characters and scenes in my story are from the2007BBC series 'Cranford', based on the books of Elizabeth Gaskell.

Harry Gregson was twelve years old. It was then that Harry's life changed. Barely; Imperceptibly at first. But change it did. Harry had found a friend.

Or rather, the friend found Harry. Harry's friend was not a play-mate or even a confidante. Indeed, even at his young age, Harry had never had time for friends such as those.

Say should he have encountered such a friend, Harry would not have had the time or the leisure to indulge his discovery. For even by his tender age, he had often been needed by his family to be the 'man of the house'. Little time for play then, or hi-jinx with friends.

Not that Harry's Father was always absent. But the Gregson's were a 'dirt-poor' Forest family and Mr Gregson often had to be away chasing work - or any other opportunity (legal where possible) to come by bread and the necessities of Life for his wife and two sons and a baby on the way.

During these absences it fell to Harry as the oldest boy to ensure that the little family in the Forest ate - at least five days out of seven. When desperation demanded, he had little choice and Harry on occasion poached Trout from one of the streams on Lady Ludlow's Estate.

Harry poached either so that his family could eat, or so that he could sell his 'goods' to buy other essentials for the family such as shoes or a scrap of warm clothing for his Mother or little Brother to ward off the freezing Winter in their makeshift cottage.

It was while thus engaged that Harry met his friend.END

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